For days rumors of the existence of a secret letter about Judge Brett Kavanaugh have been floating about Washington, D.C., and on Thursday Democratic U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein confirmed the letter’s existence by announcing she was forwarding it to the FBI for investigation.

While its contents are unknown, reports at The Intercept and Buzzfeed make clear it was penned by an unnamed woman, and her attorney represents #MeToo survivors. The attorney has refused to comment, and the unnamed woman’s privacy is being respected.

But HuffPost is now reporting that the FBI has just refused to investigate what are assumed to be allegations, possibly of sexual impropriety, against Judge Kavanaugh, ahead of his Senate Supreme Court confirmation vote.

Why?

“Upon receipt of the information on the night of September 12, we included it as part of Judge Kavanaugh’s background file, as per the standard process,” an FBI spokesperson told HuffPost. Huffpost adds, “there’s no plan for further investigation as part of the background check process, which likely would have happened if the FBI had received the information earlier on.”

Amanda Terkel, HuffPost Washington Bureau Chief, explains via Twitter, “Basically… the information came in too late,” leading some to question how it could be too late for a lifetime appointment.

8. I thought she just received the info.

13. On top of that, others convinced her to forward it to the FBI, even though its author wanted privacy

.

Like with Anita Hill's information, people can't make claims that will be honored, unless there is due process.

It's like people who call CPS, thinking they are anonymous. They aren't, and when a case goes to trial, their names are revealed. CPS just says it's anonymous to get people to call their offices. But, like any charge or complaint, the names are taken for future use.

16. Per CNN she has had it since July

Multiple sources also said Feinstein received the letter in July, well before she met with the nominee and prior to Kavanaugh's confirmation hearings last week. It is not clear why the information was not relayed to the FBI until Wednesday night.

45. Sad isn't it?

46. Yes. Narcissism as a sort of ultimate Dunning-Kruger.

Woodward's book is full of astonishing examples that he truly has no idea what it is to know something.

He has his favorite ideas and literally can't learn they're wrong from others because he can't understand that anyone would know something he doesn't. Facts that contradict what he wants to believe prove themselves wrong thereby. A closed system.

For instance, he knows that if we have a deficit we can just print more money and make it go away.
Proof positive those those pols who haven't managed to figure that out are really stupid. And of course of his very superior brain.

22. California Representative Anna Eshoo got the letter in July, and

gave it to DiFi as below (I saw one article say she gave it in July).

The information came from a letter forwarded to her from the office of Representative Anna Eshoo (D-CA); the letter’s author was allegedly the subject of Kavanaugh’s alleged sexual misconduct, according to one of NYT‘s anonymous sources. Feinstein received the letter from Eshoo’s office sometime this summer, but did not inform the Judiciary Committee about its contents until September 12. She did not share the letter itself. Several Democrats apparently urged her to take it to the FBI, while others wanted her to take it public, according to NYT.

12. Unverified details in this Guardian piece

A source who said they were briefed on the contents of the letter said it described an incident involving Kavanaugh and a woman that took place when both were 17 years old and at a party. According to the source, Kavanaugh and a male friend had locked her in a room against her will, making her feel threatened, but she was able to get out of the room. The Guardian has not verified the apparent claims in the letter.

14. Honestly, under most times the FBI couldn't investigate

For the FBI to investigate they would have to have jurisdiction, that requires a violation of Federal law within the statute of limitations.

So the only time they could investigate is a very narrow window during the background check process for a nominee, which isn’t like a security clearance type check that is ongoing. Instead it’s a one-time check where they look and make a report to the White House and that’s it. Once it’s done it’s done, it’s like a one-time research project.

Allegations of sexual misconduct between high school students are the jurisdiction of state and local law enforcement. The FBI can’t conduct a criminal investigation into them even if they wanted. At the most had they found this earlier they would have interviewed the victim, put it in the report, and maybe made a referral to local LE if they felt there was a crime.

15. Have to agree with the FBI on this one

From the information in this article and on CNN, the senator had this letter available since July and did not send it until now. I am sure she was very well aware of the timeline for the background check.

Also, according to CNN, the letter was forwarded with all names redacted except for Mr. Kavanaugh. There is not a whole lot they can investigate without any names of people to question.